RCB in red-hot form, can they continue their winning streak?
Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) have won their last four matches and are in a good run of form. They will be looking to extend their winning streak when they take on Delhi Capitals (DC) in a crucial match for both teams’ playoff hopes.
DC without Pant, will they miss their captain’s leadership?
Delhi Capitals will be without their captain Rishabh Pant, who is suspended for this match. This is a big blow for DC as Pant is a key player for them. Axar Patel will lead DC in Pant’s absence.
Expected Playing 11:
- RCB: Virat Kohli, Faf du Plessis (c), Will Jacks, Rajat Patidar, Glenn Maxwell, Cameron Green, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Swapnil Singh, Karn Sharma, Mohammed Siraj, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Yash Dayal.
- DC: (subject to change based on pitch conditions) Jake Fraser-McGurk, Abishek Porel (wk), David Warner/Shai Hope, Yash Dhull/Kumar Kushagra, Tristan Stubbs, Axar Patel (c), Lalit Yadav/Sumit Kumar, Rasikh Salam, Kuldeep Yadav, Mukesh Kumar, Jhye Richardson, Khaleel Ahmed.
Matchup to watch: Rajat Patidar vs DC spinners
Rajat Patidar has the second-best strike rate against spin this season, which could be a crucial factor in the middle overs. DC has the best collective spin attack average this season, so this will be an interesting battle to watch.
Other key stats:
- RCB has won four of the last five meetings between these two teams.
- Dinesh Karthik enjoys batting against Khaleel Ahmed.
- Tristan Stubbs and Dinesh Karthik are the most prolific run-scorers in the death overs this IPL season.
Pitch and conditions:
The Chinnaswamy Stadium is known for its high-scoring pitches. However, there have been no 200-plus totals in any of the other four matches at the venue so far this season. There was early help for the new ball in the most recent match here, so it will be interesting to see if the pitch offers similar conditions for fast bowlers on Sunday night. Rain interruptions are also a possibility.